The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci, Volume 1 by Leonardo Da Vinci

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other, till the last column projects but very little beyond the lastbut one. Thus the spaces between the columns are by degrees entirelylost. So, if your method of perspective is good, it will produce thesame effect; this effect results from standing near the line inwhich the columns are placed. This method is not satisfactory unlessthe objects seen are viewed from a small hole, in the middle ofwhich is your point of sight; but if you proceed thus your work willbe perfect and will deceive the beholder, who will see the columnsas they are here figured.

Here the eye is in the middle, at the point _a_ and near to thecolumns.

[Footnote: The diagram which stands above this chapter in theoriginal with the note belonging to it: "a b _e la ripruova_" (_a b_is the proof) has obviously no connection with the text. The secondsketch alone is reproduced and stands in the original between lines22 and 23.]

545.

If you cannot arrange that those who look at your work should standat one particular point, when constructing your work, stand backuntil your eye is at least 20 times as far off as the greatestheight and width of your work. This will make so little differencewhen the eye of the spectator moves, that it will be hardlyappreciable, and it will look very good.

If the point of sight is at _t_ you would make the figures on thecircle _d b e_ all of one size, as each of them bears the samerelation to the point _t_. But consider the diagram given below andyou will see that this is wrong, and why I shall make _b_ smallerthan _d e_ [Footnote 8: The second diagram of this chapter stands inthe original between lines 8 and 9.].

It is easy to understand that if 2 objects equal to each other areplaced side by side the one at 3 braccia distance looks smaller thanthat placed at 2 braccia. This however is rather theoretical thanfor practice, because you stand close by [Footnote 11: Instead of'_se preso_' (=_sie presso_) M. RAVAISSON reads '_sempre se_' whichgives rise to the unmeaning rendering: '_parceque toujours_ ...'].

All the objects in the foreground, whether large or small, are to bedrawn of their proper size, and if you see them from a distance theywill appear just as they ought, and if you see them close they willdiminish of themselves.

[Footnote 15: Compare No. 526 line 18.] Take care that the verticalplan on which you work out the perspective of the objects seen is ofthe same form as the wall on which the work is to be executed.

546.

OF PAINTING.

The size of the figures represented ought to show you the distancethey are seen from. If you see a figure as large as nature you knowit appears to be close to the eye.

547.

WHERE A SPECTATOR SHOULD STAND TO LOOK AT A PICTURE.

Supposing _a b_ to be the picture and _d_ to be the light, I saythat if you place yourself between _c_ and _e_ you will notunderstand the picture well and particularly if it is done in oils,or still more if it is varnished, because it will be lustrous andsomewhat of the nature of a mirror. And for this reason the neareryou go towards the point _c_, the less you will see, because therays of light falling from the window on the picture are reflectedto that point. But if you place yourself between _e_ and _d_ youwill get a good view of it, and the more so as you approach thepoint _d_, because that spot is least exposed to these reflectedrays of light.

III.

THE PRACTICAL METHODS OF LIGHT AND SHADE AND AERIAL PERSPECTIVE.

Gradations of light and shade.

548.

OF PAINTING: OF THE DARKNESS OF THE SHADOWS, OR I MAY SAY, THEBRIGHTNESS OF THE LIGHTS.

Although practical painters attribute to all shaded objects--trees,fields, hair, beards and skin--four degrees of darkness in eachcolour they use: that is to say first a dark foundation, secondly aspot of colour somewhat resembling the form of the details, thirdlya somewhat brighter and more defined portion, fourthly the lightswhich are more conspicuous than other parts of the figure; still tome it appears that these gradations are infinite upon a continuoussurface which is in itself infinitely divisible, and I prove itthus:--[Footnote 7: See Pl. XXXI, No. 1; the two upper sketches.]Let _a g_ be a continuous surface and let _d_ be the light whichilluminates it; I say--by the 4th [proposition] which says that thatside of an illuminated body is most highly lighted which is nearestto the source of light--that therefore _g_ must be darker than _c_in proportion as the line _d g_ is longer than the line _d c_, andconsequently that these gradations of light--or rather of shadow,are not 4 only, but may be conceived of as infinite, because _c d_is a continuous surface and every continuous surface is infinitelydivisible; hence the varieties in the length of lines extendingbetween the light and the illuminated object are infinite, and theproportion of the light will be the same as that of the length ofthe lines between them; extending from the centre of the luminousbody to the surface of the illuminated object.

On the choice of light for a picture (549-554).

549.

HOW THE PAINTER MUST PLACE HIMSELF WITH REFERENCE TO THE LIGHT, TOGIVE THE EFFECT OF RELIEF.

Let _a b_ be the window, _m_ the point of light. I say that onwhichever side the painter places himself he will be well placed ifonly his eye is between the shaded and the illuminated portions ofthe object he is drawing; and this place you will find by puttingyourself between the point _m_ and the division between the shadowand the light on the object to be drawn.

550.

THAT SHADOWS CAST BY A PARTICULAR LIGHT SHOULD BE AVOIDED, BECAUSETHEY ARE EQUALLY STRONG AT THE ENDS AND AT THE BEGINNING.

The shadows cast by the sun or any other particular light have not apleasing effect on the body to which they belong, because the partsremain confuse, being divided by distinct outlines of light andshade. And the shadows are of equal strength at the end and at thebeginning.

551.

HOW LIGHT SHOULD BE THROWN UPON FIGURES.

The light must be arranged in accordance with the natural conditionsunder which you wish to represent your figures: that is, if yourepresent them in the sunshine make the shadows dark with largespaces of light, and mark their shadows and those of all thesurrounding objects strongly on the ground. And if you representthem as in dull weather give little difference of light and shade,without any shadows at their feet. If you represent them as withindoors, make a strong difference between the lights and shadows, withshadows on the ground. If the window is screened and the wallswhite, there will be little difference of light. If it is lighted byfirelight make the high lights ruddy and strong, and the shadowsdark, and those cast on the walls and on the floor will be clearlydefined and the farther they are from the body the broader andlonger will they be. If the light is partly from the fire and partlyfrom the outer day, that of day will be the stronger and that of thefire almost as red as fire itself. Above all see that the figuresyou paint are broadly lighted and from above, that is to say allliving persons that you paint; for you will see that all the peopleyou meet out in the street are lighted from above, and you must knowthat if you saw your most intimate friend with a light [on his face]from below you would find it difficult to recognise him.

552.

OF HELPING THE APPARENT RELIEF OF A PICTURE BY GIVING IT ARTIFICIALLIGHT AND SHADE.

To increase relief of a picture you may place, between your figureand the solid object on which its shadow falls, a line of brightlight, dividing the figure from the object in shadow. And on thesame object you shall represent two light parts which will surroundthe shadow cast upon the wall by the figure placed opposite [6]; anddo this frequently with the limbs which you wish should stand outsomewhat from the body they belong to; particularly when the armscross the front of the breast show, between the shadow cast by thearms on the breast and the shadow on the arms themselves, a littlelight seeming to fall through a space between the breast and thearms; and the more you wish the arm to look detached from the breastthe broader you must make the light; always contrive also to arrangethe figures against the background in such a way as that the partsin shadow are against a light background and the illuminatedportions against a dark background.

[Footnote 6: Compare the two diagrams under No. 565.]

553.

OF SITUATION.

Remember [to note] the situation of your figures; for the light andshade will be one thing if the object is in a dark place with aparticular light, and another thing if it is in a light place withdirect sunlight; one thing in a dark place with a diffused eveninglight or a cloudy sky, and another in the diffused light of theatmosphere lighted by the sun.

554.

OF THE JUDGMENT TO BE MADE OF A PAINTER'S WORK.

First you must consider whether the figures have the relief requiredby their situation and the light which illuminates them; for theshadows should not be the same at the extreme ends of thecomposition as in the middle, because it is one thing when figuresare surrounded by shadows and another when they have shadows only onone side. Those which are in the middle of the picture aresurrounded by shadows, because they are shaded by the figures whichstand between them and the light. And those are lighted on one sideonly which stand between the principal group and the light, becausewhere they do not look towards the light they face the group and thedarkness of the group is thrown on them: and where they do not facethe group they face the brilliant light and it is their own darknessshadowing them, which appears there.

In the second place observe the distribution or arrangement offigures, and whether they are distributed appropriately to thecircumstances of the story. Thirdly, whether the figures areactively intent on their particular business.

555.

OF THE TREATMENT OF THE LIGHTS.

First give a general shadow to the whole of that extended part whichis away from the light. Then put in the half shadows and the strongshadows, comparing them with each other and, in the same way givethe extended light in half tint, afterwards adding the half lightsand the high lights, likewise comparing them together.

The distribution of light and shade (556-559)

556.

OF SHADOWS ON BODIES.

When you represent the dark shadows in bodies in light and shade,always show the cause of the shadow, and the same with reflections;because the dark shadows are produced by dark objects and thereflections by objects only moderately lighted, that is withdiminished light. And there is the same proportion between thehighly lighted part of a body and the part lighted by a reflectionas between the origin of the lights on the body and the origin ofthe reflections.

557.

OF LIGHTS AND SHADOWS.

I must remind you to take care that every portion of a body, andevery smallest detail which is ever so little in relief, must begiven its proper importance as to light and shade.

558.

OF THE WAY TO MAKE THE SHADOW ON FIGURES CORRESPOND TO THE LIGHT ANDTO [THE COLOUR] OF THE BODY.

When you draw a figure and you wish to see whether the shadow is theproper complement to the light, and neither redder nor yellower thanis the nature of the colour you wish to represent in shade, proceedthus. Cast a shadow with your finger on the illuminated portion, andif the accidental shadow that you have made is like the naturalshadow cast by your finger on your work, well and good; and byputting your finger nearer or farther off, you can make darker orlighter shadows, which you must compare with your own.

559.

OF SURROUNDING BODIES BY VARIOUS FORMS OF SHADOW.

Take care that the shadows cast upon the surface of the bodies bydifferent objects must undulate according to the various curves ofthe limbs which cast the shadows, and of the objects on which theyare cast.

The juxtaposition of light and shade (560, 561).

560.

ON PAINTING.

The comparison of the various qualities of shadows and lights notinfrequently seems ambiguous and confused to the painter who desiresto imitate and copy the objects he sees. The reason is this: If yousee a white drapery side by side with a black one, that part of thewhite drapery which lies against the black one will certainly lookmuch whiter than the part which lies against something whiter thanitself. [Footnote: It is evident from this that so early as in 1492Leonardo's writing in perspective was so far advanced that he couldquote his own statements.--As bearing on this subject compare whatis said in No. 280.] And the reason of this is shown in my [book on]perspective.

561.

OF SHADOWS.

Where a shadow ends in the light, note carefully where it is paleror deeper and where it is more or less indistinct towards the light;and, above all, in [painting] youthful figures I remind you not tomake the shadow end like a stone, because flesh has a certaintransparency, as may be seen by looking at a hand held between theeye and the sun, which shines through it ruddy and bright. Place themost highly coloured part between the light and shadow. And to seewhat shadow tint is needed on the flesh, cast a shadow on it withyour finger, and according as you wish to see it lighter or darkerhold your finger nearer to or farther from your picture, and copythat [shadow].

On the lighting of the background (562-565).

562.

OF THE BACKGROUNDS FOR PAINTED FIGURES.

The ground which surrounds the forms of any object you paint shouldbe darker than the high lights of those figures, and lighter thantheir shadowed part: &c.

563.

OF THE BACKGROUND THAT THE PAINTER SHOULD ADOPT IN HIS WORKS.

Since experience shows us that all bodies are surrounded by lightand shade it is necessary that you, O Painter, should so arrangethat the side which is in light shall terminate against a dark bodyand likewise that the shadow side shall terminate against a lightbody. And by [following] this rule you will add greatly to therelief of your figures.

564.

A most important part of painting consists in the backgrounds of theobjects represented; against these backgrounds the outlines ofthose natural objects which are convex are always visible, and alsothe forms of these bodies against the background, even though thecolours of the bodies should be the same as that of the background.This is caused by the convex edges of the objects not beingilluminated in the same way as, by the same light, the background isilluminated, since these edges will often be lighter or darker thanthe background. But if the edge is of the same colour as thebackground, beyond a doubt it will in that part of the pictureinterfere with your perception of the outline, and such a choice ina picture ought to be rejected by the judgment of good painters,inasmuch as the purpose of the painter is to make his figures appeardetached from the background; while in the case here described thecontrary occurs, not only in the picture, but in the objectsthemselves.

565.

That you ought, when representing objects above the eye and on oneside--if you wish them to look detached from the wall--to show,between the shadow on the object and the shadow it casts a middlelight, so that the body will appear to stand away from the wall.

On the lighting of white objects.

566.

HOW WHITE BODIES SHOULD BE REPRESENTED.

If you are representing a white body let it be surrounded by amplespace, because as white has no colour of its own, it is tinged andaltered in some degree by the colour of the objects surrounding it.If you see a woman dressed in white in the midst of a landscape,that side which is towards the sun is bright in colour, so much sothat in some portions it will dazzle the eyes like the sun itself;and the side which is towards the atmosphere,--luminous throughbeing interwoven with the sun's rays and penetrated by them--sincethe atmosphere itself is blue, that side of the woman's figure willappear steeped in blue. If the surface of the ground about her bemeadows and if she be standing between a field lighted up by the sunand the sun itself, you will see every portion of those folds whichare towards the meadow tinged by the reflected rays with the colourof that meadow. Thus the white is transmuted into the colours of theluminous and of the non-luminous objects near it.

The methods of aerial (567--570).

567.

WHY FACES [SEEN] AT A DISTANCE LOOK DARK.

We see quite plainly that all the images of visible objects that liebefore us, whether large or small, reach our sense by the minuteaperture of the eye; and if, through so small a passage the imagecan pass of the vast extent of sky and earth, the face of aman--being by comparison with such large images almost nothing byreason of the distance which diminishes it,--fills up so little ofthe eye that it is indistinguishable. Having, also, to betransmitted from the surface to the sense through a dark medium,that is to say the crystalline lens which looks dark, this image,not being strong in colour becomes affected by this darkness on itspassage, and on reaching the sense it appears dark; no other reasoncan in any way be assigned. If the point in the eye is black, it isbecause it is full of a transparent humour as clear as air and actslike a perforation in a board; on looking into it it appears darkand the objects seen through the bright air and a dark one becomeconfused in this darkness.

WHY A MAN SEEN AT A CERTAIN DISTANCE IS NOT RECOGNISABLE.

The perspective of diminution shows us that the farther away anobject is the smaller it looks. If you look at a man at a distancefrom you of an arrow's flight, and hold the eye of a small needleclose to your own eye, you can see through it several men whoseimages are transmitted to the eye and will all be comprised withinthe size of the needle's eye; hence, if the man who is at thedistance of an arrow's flight can send his whole image to your eye,occupying only a small space in the needle's eye how can you[expect] in so small a figure to distinguish or see the nose ormouth or any detail of his person? and, not seeing these you cannotrecognise the man, since these features, which he does not show, arewhat give men different aspects.

568.

THE REASON WHY SMALL FIGURES SHOULD NOT BE MADE FINISHED.

I say that the reason that objects appear diminished in size isbecause they are remote from the eye; this being the case it isevident that there must be a great extent of atmosphere between theeye and the objects, and this air interferes with the distinctnessof the forms of the object. Hence the minute details of theseobjects will be indistinguishable and unrecognisable. Therefore, OPainter, make your smaller figures merely indicated and not highlyfinished, otherwise you will produce effects the opposite to nature,your supreme guide. The object is small by reason of the greatdistance between it and the eye, this great distance is filled withair, that mass of air forms a dense body which intervenes andprevents the eye seeing the minute details of objects.

569.

Whenever a figure is placed at a considerable distance you losefirst the distinctness of the smallest parts; while the larger partsare left to the last, losing all distinctness of detail and outline;and what remains is an oval or spherical figure with confused edges.

570.

OF PAINTING.

The density of a body of smoke looks white below the horizon whileabove the horizon it is dark, even if the smoke is in itself of auniform colour, this uniformity will vary according to the varietyin the ground on which it is seen.

IV.

OF PORTRAIT AND FIGURE PAINTING.

Of sketching figures and portraits (571-572).

571.

OF THE WAY TO LEARN TO COMPOSE FIGURES [IN GROUPS] IN HISTORICALPICTURES.

When you have well learnt perspective and have by heart the partsand forms of objects, you must go about, and constantly, as you go,observe, note and consider the circumstances and behaviour of men intalking, quarrelling or laughing or fighting together: the action ofthe men themselves and the actions of the bystanders, who separatethem or who look on. And take a note of them with slight strokesthus, in a little book which you should always carry with you. Andit should be of tinted paper, that it may not be rubbed out, butchange the old [when full] for a new one; since these things shouldnot be rubbed out but preserved with great care; for the forms, andpositions of objects are so infinite that the memory is incapable ofretaining them, wherefore keep these [sketches] as your guides andmasters.

[Footnote: Among Leonardo's numerous note books of pocket size notone has coloured paper, so no sketches answering to this descriptioncan be pointed out. The fact that most of the notes are written inink, militates against the supposition that they were made in theopen air.]

572.

OF A METHOD OF KEEPING IN MIND THE FORM OF A FACE.

If you want to acquire facility for bearing in mind the expressionof a face, first make yourself familiar with a variety of [forms of]several heads, eyes, noses, mouths, chins and cheeks and necks andshoulders: And to put a case: Noses are of 10 types: straight,bulbous, hollow, prominent above or below the middle, aquiline,regular, flat, round or pointed. These hold good as to profile. Infull face they are of 11 types; these are equal thick in the middle,thin in the middle, with the tip thick and the root narrow, ornarrow at the tip and wide at the root; with the nostrils wide ornarrow, high or low, and the openings wide or hidden by the point;and you will find an equal variety in the other details; whichthings you must draw from nature and fix them in your mind. Or else,when you have to draw a face by heart, carry with you a little bookin which you have noted such features; and when you have cast aglance at the face of the person you wish to draw, you can look, inprivate, which nose or mouth is most like, or there make a littlemark to recognise it again at home. Of grotesque faces I need saynothing, because they are kept in mind without difficulty.

The position of the head.

573.

HOW YOU SHOULD SET TO WORK TO DRAW A HEAD OF WHICH ALL THE PARTSSHALL AGREE WITH THE POSITION GIVEN TO IT.

To draw a head in which the features shall agree with the turn andbend of the head, pursue this method. You know that the eyes,eyebrows, nostrils, corners of the mouth, and sides of the chin, thejaws, cheeks, ears and all the parts of a face are squarely andstraightly set upon the face.

Therefore when you have sketched the face draw lines passing fromone corner of the eye to the other; and so for the placing of eachfeature; and after having drawn the ends of the lines beyond the twosides of the face, look if the spaces inside the same parallel lineson the right and on the left are equal [12]. But be sure to rememberto make these lines tend to the point of sight.

[Footnote: See Pl. XXXI, No. 4, the slight sketch on the left handside. The text of this passage is written by the side of it. In thissketch the lines seem intentionally incorrect and converging to theright (compare I. 12) instead of parallel. Compare too with thistext the drawing in red chalk from Windsor Castle which isreproduced on Pl. XL, No. 2.]

Of the light on the face (574-576).

574.

HOW TO KNOW WHICH SIDE OF AN OBJECT IS TO BE MORE OR LESS LUMINOUSTHAN THE OTHER.

Let _f_ be the light, the head will be the object illuminated by itand that side of the head on which the rays fall most directly willbe the most highly lighted, and those parts on which the rays fallmost aslant will be less lighted. The light falls as a blow might,since a blow which falls perpendicularly falls with the greatestforce, and when it falls obliquely it is less forcible than theformer in proportion to the width of the angle. _Exempli gratia_ ifyou throw a ball at a wall of which the extremities are equally farfrom you the blow will fall straight, and if you throw the ball atthe wall when standing at one end of it the ball will hit itobliquely and the blow will not tell.

[Footnote: See Pl. XXXI. No. 4; the sketch on the right hand side.]

575.

THE PROOF AND REASON WHY AMONG THE ILLUMINATED PARTS CERTAINPORTIONS ARE IN HIGHER LIGHT THAN OTHERS.

Since it is proved that every definite light is, or seems to be,derived from one single point the side illuminated by it will haveits highest light on the portion where the line of radiance fallsperpendicularly; as is shown above in the lines _a g_, and also in_a h_ and in _l a_; and that portion of the illuminated side will beleast luminous, where the line of incidence strikes it between twomore dissimilar angles, as is seen at _b c d_. And by this means youmay also know which parts are deprived of light as is seen at _m k_.

Where the angles made by the lines of incidence are most equal therewill be the highest light, and where they are most unequal it willbe darkest.

I will make further mention of the reason of reflections.

[Footnote: See Pl. XXXII. The text, here given complete, is on theright hand side. The small circles above the beginning of lines 5and 11 as well as the circle above the text on Pl. XXXI, are in apaler ink and evidently added by a later hand in order todistinguish the text as belonging to the _Libro di Pittura_ (seeProlegomena. No. 12, p. 3). The text on the left hand side of thispage is given as Nos. 577 and 137.]

576.

Where the shadow should be on the face.

General suggestions for historical pictures (577-581).

577.

When you compose a historical picture take two points, one the pointof sight, and the other the source of light; and make this asdistant as possible.

578.

Historical pictures ought not to be crowded and confused with toomany figures.

579.

PRECEPTS IN PAINTING.

Let you sketches of historical pictures be swift and the working outof the limbs not be carried too far, but limited to the position ofthe limbs, which you can afterwards finish as you please and at yourleisure.

[Footnote: See Pl. XXXVIII, No. 2. The pen and ink drawing giventhere as No. 3 may also be compared with this passage. It is in theWindsor collection where it is numbered 101.]

580.

The sorest misfortune is when your views are in advance of yourwork.

581.

Of composing historical pictures. Of not considering the limbs inthe figures in historical pictures; as many do who, in the wish torepresent the whole of a figure, spoil their compositions. And whenyou place one figure behind another take care to draw the whole ofit so that the limbs which come in front of the nearer figures maystand out in their natural size and place.

How to represent the differences of age and sex (582-583).

582.

How the ages of man should be depicted: that is, Infancy, Childhood,Youth, Manhood, Old age, Decrepitude.

[Footnote: No answer is here given to this question, in the originalMS.]

583.

Old men ought to be represented with slow and heavy movements, theirlegs bent at the knees, when they stand still, and their feet placedparallel and apart; bending low with the head leaning forward, andtheir arms but little extended.

Women must be represented in modest attitudes, their legs closetogether, their arms closely folded, their heads inclined andsomewhat on one side.

Old women should be represented with eager, swift and furiousgestures, like infernal furies; but the action should be moreviolent in their arms and head than in their legs.

Little children, with lively and contorted movements when sitting,and, when standing still, in shy and timid attitudes.

[Footnote: _bracci raccolte_. Compare Pl. XXXIII. This drawing, insilver point on yellowish tinted paper, the lights heightened withwhite, represents two female hands laid together in a lap. Above isa third finished study of a right hand, apparently holding a veilfrom the head across the bosom. This drawing evidently dates frombefore 1500 and was very probably done at Florence, perhaps as apreparatory study for some picture. The type of hand with itsslender thin forms is more like the style of the _Vierge auxRochers_ in the Louvre than any later works--as the Mona Lisa forinstance.]

Of representing the emotions.

584.

THAT A FIGURE IS NOT ADMIRABLE UNLESS IT EXPRESSES BY ITS ACTION THEPASSION OF ITS SENTIMENT.

That figure is most admirable which by its actions best expressesthe passion that animates it.

HOW AN ANGRY MAN IS TO BE FIGURED.

You must make an angry person holding someone by the hair, wrenchinghis head against the ground, and with one knee on his ribs; hisright arm and fist raised on high. His hair must be thrown up, hisbrow downcast and knit, his teeth clenched and the two corners ofhis mouth grimly set; his neck swelled and bent forward as he leansover his foe, and full of furrows.

HOW TO REPRESENT A MAN IN DESPAIR.

You must show a man in despair with a knife, having already tornopen his garments, and with one hand tearing open the wound. Andmake him standing on his feet and his legs somewhat bent and hiswhole person leaning towards the earth; his hair flying in disorder.

Of representing imaginary animals.

585.

HOW YOU SHOULD MAKE AN IMAGINARY ANIMAL LOOK NATURAL.

You know that you cannot invent animals without limbs, each ofwhich, in itself, must resemble those of some other animal. Hence ifyou wish to make an animal, imagined by you, appear natural--let ussay a Dragon, take for its head that of a mastiff or hound, with theeyes of a cat, the ears of a porcupine, the nose of a greyhound, thebrow of a lion, the temples of an old cock, the neck of a watertortoise.

[Footnote: The sketch here inserted of two men on horseback fightinga dragon is the facsimile of a pen and ink drawing belonging toBARON EDMOND DE ROTHSCHILD of Paris.]

The selection of forms.

586.

OF THE DELUSIONS WHICH ARISE IN JUDGING OF THE LIMBS.

A painter who has clumsy hands will paint similar hands in hisworks, and the same will occur with any limb, unless long study hastaught him to avoid it. Therefore, O Painter, look carefully whatpart is most ill-favoured in your own person and take particularpains to correct it in your studies. For if you are coarse, yourfigures will seem the same and devoid of charm; and it is the samewith any part that may be good or poor in yourself; it will be shownin some degree in your figures.

587.

OF THE SELECTION OF BEAUTIFUL FACES.

It seems to me to be no small charm in a painter when he gives hisfigures a pleasing air, and this grace, if he have it not by nature,he may acquire by incidental study in this way: Look about you andtake the best parts of many beautiful faces, of which the beauty isconfirmed rather by public fame than by your own judgment; for youmight be mistaken and choose faces which have some resemblance toyour own. For it would seem that such resemblances often please us;and if you should be ugly, you would select faces that were notbeautiful and you would then make ugly faces, as many painters do.For often a master's work resembles himself. So select beauties as Itell you, and fix them in your mind.

588.

Of the limbs, which ought to be carefully selected, and of all theother parts with regard to painting.

589.

When selecting figures you should choose slender ones rather thanlean and wooden ones.

590.

OF THE MUSCLES OF ANIMALS.

The hollow spaces interposed between the muscles must not be of sucha character as that the skin should seem to cover two sticks laidside by side like _c_, nor should they seem like two sticks somewhatremote from such contact so that the skin hangs in an empty loosecurve as at _f_; but it should be like _i_, laid over the spongy fatthat lies in the angles as the angle _n m o_; which angle is formedby the contact of the ends of the muscles and as the skin cannotfold down into such an angle, nature has filled up such angles witha small quantity of spongy and, as I may say, vesicular fat, withminute bladders [in it] full of air, which is condensed or rarefiedin them according to the increase or the diminution of the substanceof the muscles; in which latter case the concavity _i_ always has alarger curve than the muscle.

591.

OF UNDULATING MOVEMENTS AND EQUIPOISE IN FIGURES AND OTHER ANIMALS.

When representing a human figure or some graceful animal, be carefulto avoid a wooden stiffness; that is to say make them move withequipoise and balance so as not to look like a piece of wood; butthose you want to represent as strong you must not make so,excepting in the turn of the head.

How to pose figures.

592.

OF GRACE IN THE LIMBS.

The limbs should be adapted to the body with grace and withreference to the effect that you wish the figure to produce. And ifyou wish to produce a figure that shall of itself look light andgraceful you must make the limbs elegant and extended, and withouttoo much display of the muscles; and those few that are needed foryour purpose you must indicate softly, that is, not very prominentand without strong shadows; the limbs, and particularly the armseasy; that is, none of the limbs should be in a straight line withthe adjoining parts. And if the hips, which are the pole of a man,are by reason of his position, placed so, that the right is higherthan the left, make the point of the higher shoulder in aperpendicular line above the highest prominence of the hip, and letthis right shoulder be lower than the left. Let the pit of thethroat always be over the centre of the joint of the foot on whichthe man is leaning. The leg which is free should have the knee lowerthan the other, and near the other leg. The positions of the headand arms are endless and I shall therefore not enlarge on any rulesfor them. Still, let them be easy and pleasing, with various turnsand twists, and the joints gracefully bent, that they may not looklike pieces of wood.

Of appropriate gestures (593-600).

593.

A picture or representation of human figures, ought to be done insuch a way as that the spectator may easily recognise, by means oftheir attitudes, the purpose in their minds. Thus, if you have torepresent a man of noble character in the act of speaking, let hisgestures be such as naturally accompany good words; and, in the sameway, if you wish to depict a man of a brutal nature, give him fiercemovements; as with his arms flung out towards the listener, and hishead and breast thrust forward beyond his feet, as if following thespeaker's hands. Thus it is with a deaf and dumb person who, when hesees two men in conversation--although he is deprived ofhearing--can nevertheless understand, from the attitudes andgestures of the speakers, the nature of their discussion. I once sawin Florence a man who had become deaf who, when you spoke very louddid not understand you, but if you spoke gently and without makingany sound, understood merely from the movement of the lips. Nowperhaps you will say that the lips of a man who speaks loudly do notmove like those of one speaking softly, and that if they were tomove them alike they would be alike understood. As to this argument,I leave the decision to experiment; make a man speak to you gentlyand note [the motion of] his lips.

[Footnote: The first ten lines of this text have already beenpublished, but with a slightly different reading by Dr. M. JORDAN:_Das Malerbuch Leonardo da Vinci's_ p. 86.]

594.

OF REPRESENTING A MAN SPEAKING TO A MULTITUDE.

When you wish to represent a man speaking to a number of people,consider the matter of which he has to treat and adapt his action tothe subject. Thus, if he speaks persuasively, let his action beappropriate to it. If the matter in hand be to set forth anargument, let the speaker, with the fingers of the right hand holdone finger of the left hand, having the two smaller ones closed; andhis face alert, and turned towards the people with mouth a littleopen, to look as though he spoke; and if he is sitting let himappear as though about to rise, with his head forward. If yourepresent him standing make him leaning slightly forward with bodyand head towards the people. These you must represent as silent andattentive, all looking at the orator's face with gestures ofadmiration; and make some old men in astonishment at the things theyhear, with the corners of their mouths pulled down and drawn in,their cheeks full of furrows, and their eyebrows raised, andwrinkling the forehead where they meet. Again, some sitting withtheir fingers clasped holding their weary knees. Again, some bentold man, with one knee crossed over the other; on which let him holdhis hand with his other elbow resting in it and the hand supportinghis bearded chin.

[Footnote: The sketches introduced here are a facsimile of a pen andink drawing in the Louvre which Herr CARL BRUN considers as studiesfor the Last Supper in the church of _Santa Maria delle Grazie_ (seeLeonardo da Vinci, LXI, pp. 21, 27 and 28 in DOHME'S _Kunst undKunstler_, Leipzig, Seemann). I shall not here enter into anydiscussion of this suggestion; but as a justification forintroducing the drawing in this place, I may point out that some ofthe figures illustrate this passage as perfectly as though they hadbeen drawn for that express purpose. I have discussed theprobability of a connection between this sketch and the picture ofthe Last Supper on p. 335. The original drawing is 27 3/4centimetres wide by 21 high.--The drawing in silver point on reddishpaper given on Pl. LII. No. 1--the original at Windsor Castle--mayalso serve to illustrate the subject of appropriate gestures,treated in Nos. 593 and 594.]

595.

OF THE DISPOSITION OF LIMBS.

As regards the disposition of limbs in movement you will have toconsider that when you wish to represent a man who, by some chance,has to turn backwards or to one side, you must not make him move hisfeet and all his limbs towards the side to which he turns his head.Rather must you make the action proceed by degrees and through thedifferent joints; that is, those of the foot, the knee and the hipand the neck. And if you set him on the right leg, you must make theleft knee bend inwards, and let his foot be slightly raised on theoutside, and the left shoulder be somewhat lower than the right,while the nape of the neck is in a line directly over the outerancle of the left foot. And the left shoulder will be in aperpendicular line above the toes of the right foot. And always setyour figures so that the side to which the head turns is not theside to which the breast faces, since nature for our convenience hasmade us with a neck which bends with ease in many directions, theeye wishing to turn to various points, the different joints. And ifat any time you make a man sitting with his arms at work onsomething which is sideways to him, make the upper part of his bodyturn upon the hips.

When you draw the nude always sketch the whole figure and thenfinish those limbs which seem to you the best, but make them actwith the other limbs; otherwise you will get a habit of neverputting the limbs well together on the body.

Never make the head turn the same way as the torso, nor the arm andleg move together on the same side. And if the face is turned to theright shoulder, make all the parts lower on the left side than onthe right; and when you turn the body with the breast outwards, ifthe head turns to the left side make the parts on the right sidehigher than those on the left.

[Footnote: In the original MS. a much defaced sketch is to be seenby the side of the second part of this chapter; its faded conditionhas rendered reproduction impossible. In M. RAVAISSON'S facsimilethe outlines of the head have probably been touched up. This passagehowever is fitly illustrated by the drawings on Pl. XXI.]

597.

OF PAINTING.

Of the nature of movements in man. Do not repeat the same gesturesin the limbs of men unless you are compelled by the necessity oftheir action, as is shown in _a b_.

[Footnote: See Pl. V, where part of the text is also reproduced. Theeffaced figure to the extreme left has evidently been cancelled byLeonardo himself as unsatisfactory.]

598.

The motions of men must be such as suggest their dignity or theirbaseness.

599.

OF PAINTING.

Make your work carry out your purpose and meaning. That is when youdraw a figure consider well who it is and what you wish it to bedoing.

OF PAINTING.

With regard to any action which you give in a picture to an old manor to a young one, you must make it more energetic in the young manin proportion as he is stronger than the old one; and in the sameway with a young man and an infant.

600.

OF SETTING ON THE LIMBS.

The limbs which are used for labour must be muscular and those whichare not much used you must make without muscles and softly rounded.

OF THE ACTION OF THE FIGURES.

Represent your figures in such action as may be fitted to expresswhat purpose is in the mind of each; otherwise your art will not beadmirable.

V.

SUGGESTIONS FOR COMPOSITIONS.

Of painting battle pieces (601-603).

601.

OF THE WAY OF REPRESENTING A BATTLE.

First you must represent the smoke of artillery mingling in the airwith the dust and tossed up by the movement of horses and thecombatants. And this mixture you must express thus: The dust, beinga thing of earth, has weight; and although from its fineness it iseasily tossed up and mingles with the air, it nevertheless readilyfalls again. It is the finest part that rises highest; hence thatpart will be least seen and will look almost of the same colour asthe air. The higher the smoke mixed with the dust-laden air risestowards a certain level, the more it will look like a dark cloud;and it will be seen that at the top, where the smoke is moreseparate from the dust, the smoke will assume a bluish tinge and thedust will tend to its colour. This mixture of air, smoke and dustwill look much lighter on the side whence the light comes than onthe opposite side. The more the combatants are in this turmoil theless will they be seen, and the less contrast will there be in theirlights and shadows. Their faces and figures and their appearance,and the musketeers as well as those near them you must make of aglowing red. And this glow will diminish in proportion as it isremote from its cause.

The figures which are between you and the light, if they be at adistance, will appear dark on a light background, and the lower partof their legs near the ground will be least visible, because therethe dust is coarsest and densest [19]. And if you introduce horsesgalloping outside the crowd, make the little clouds of dust distantfrom each other in proportion to the strides made by the horses; andthe clouds which are furthest removed from the horses, should beleast visible; make them high and spreading and thin, and the nearerones will be more conspicuous and smaller and denser [23]. The airmust be full of arrows in every direction, some shooting upwards,some falling, some flying level. The balls from the guns must have atrain of smoke following their flight. The figures in the foregroundyou must make with dust on the hair and eyebrows and on other flatplaces likely to retain it. The conquerors you will make rushingonwards with their hair and other light things flying on the wind,with their brows bent down,

[Footnote: 19--23. Compare 608. 57--75.]

602.

and with the opposite limbs thrust forward; that is where a man putsforward the right foot the left arm must be advanced. And if youmake any one fallen, you must show the place where he has slippedand been dragged along the dust into blood stained mire; and in thehalf-liquid earth arround show the print of the tramping of men andhorses who have passed that way. Make also a horse dragging the deadbody of his master, and leaving behind him, in the dust and mud, thetrack where the body was dragged along. You must make the conqueredand beaten pale, their brows raised and knit, and the skin abovetheir brows furrowed with pain, the sides of the nose with wrinklesgoing in an arch from the nostrils to the eyes, and make thenostrils drawn up--which is the cause of the lines of which Ispeak--, and the lips arched upwards and discovering the upperteeth; and the teeth apart as with crying out and lamentation. Andmake some one shielding his terrified eyes with one hand, the palmtowards the enemy, while the other rests on the ground to supporthis half raised body. Others represent shouting with their mouthsopen, and running away. You must scatter arms of all sorts among thefeet of the combatants, as broken shields, lances, broken swords andother such objects. And you must make the dead partly or entirelycovered with dust, which is changed into crimson mire where it hasmingled with the flowing blood whose colour shows it issuing in asinuous stream from the corpse. Others must be represented in theagonies of death grinding their teeth, rolling their eyes, withtheir fists clenched against their bodies and their legs contorted.Some might be shown disarmed and beaten down by the enemy, turningupon the foe, with teeth and nails, to take an inhuman and bitterrevenge. You might see some riderless horse rushing among the enemy,with his mane flying in the wind, and doing no little mischief withhis heels. Some maimed warrior may be seen fallen to the earth,covering himself with his shield, while the enemy, bending over him,tries to deal him a deathstroke. There again might be seen a numberof men fallen in a heap over a dead horse. You would see some of thevictors leaving the fight and issuing from the crowd, rubbing theireyes and cheeks with both hands to clean them of the dirt made bytheir watering eyes smarting from the dust and smoke. The reservesmay be seen standing, hopeful but cautious; with watchful eyes,shading them with their hands and gazing through the dense and murkyconfusion, attentive to the commands of their captain. The captainhimself, his staff raised, hurries towards these auxiliaries,pointing to the spot where they are most needed. And there may be ariver into which horses are galloping, churning up the water allround them into turbulent waves of foam and water, tossed into theair and among the legs and bodies of the horses. And there must notbe a level spot that is not trampled with gore.

603.

OF LIGHTING THE LOWER PARTS OF BODIES CLOSE TOGETHER, AS OF MEN INBATTLE.

As to men and horses represented in battle, their different partswill be dark in proportion as they are nearer to the ground on whichthey stand. And this is proved by the sides of wells which growdarker in proportion to their depth, the reason of which is that thedeepest part of the well sees and receives a smaller amount of theluminous atmosphere than any other part.

And the pavement, if it be of the same colour as the legs of thesesaid men and horses, will always be more lighted and at a moredirect angle than the said legs &c.

604.

OF THE WAY TO REPRESENT A NIGHT [SCENE].

That which is entirely bereft of light is all darkness; given anight under these conditions and that you want to represent a nightscene,--arrange that there shall be a great fire, then the objectswhich are nearest to this fire will be most tinged with its colour;for those objects which are nearest to a coloured light participatemost in its nature; as therefore you give the fire a red colour, youmust make all the objects illuminated by it ruddy; while those whichare farther from the fire are more tinted by the black hue of night.The figures which are seen against the fire look dark in the glareof the firelight because that side of the objects which you see istinged by the darkness of the night and not by the fire; and thosewho stand at the side are half dark and half red; while those whoare visible beyond the edges of the flame will be fully lighted bythe ruddy glow against a black background. As to their gestures,make those which are near it screen themselves with their hands andcloaks as a defence against the intense heat, and with their facesturned away as if about to retire. Of those farther off representseveral as raising their hands to screen their eyes, hurt by theintolerable glare.

Of depicting a tempest (605. 606).

605.

Describe a wind on land and at sea. Describe a storm of rain.

606.

HOW TO REPRESENT A TEMPEST.

If you wish to represent a tempest consider and arrange well itseffects as seen, when the wind, blowing over the face of the sea andearth, removes and carries with it such things as are not fixed tothe general mass. And to represent the storm accurately you mustfirst show the clouds scattered and torn, and flying with the wind,accompanied by clouds of sand blown up from the sea shore, andboughs and leaves swept along by the strength and fury of the blastand scattered with other light objects through the air. Trees andplants must be bent to the ground, almost as if they would followthe course of the gale, with their branches twisted out of theirnatural growth and their leaves tossed and turned about [Footnote11: See Pl. XL, No. 2.]. Of the men who are there some must havefallen to the ground and be entangled in their garments, and hardlyto be recognized for the dust, while those who remain standing maybe behind some tree, with their arms round it that the wind may nottear them away; others with their hands over their eyes for thedust, bending to the ground with their clothes and hair streaming inthe wind. [Footnote 15: See Pl. XXXIV, the right hand lower sketch.]Let the sea be rough and tempestuous and full of foam whirled amongthe lofty waves, while the wind flings the lighter spray through thestormy air, till it resembles a dense and swathing mist. Of theships that are therein some should be shown with rent sails and thetatters fluttering through the air, with ropes broken and mastssplit and fallen. And the ship itself lying in the trough of the seaand wrecked by the fury of the waves with the men shrieking andclinging to the fragments of the vessel. Make the clouds driven bythe impetuosity of the wind and flung against the lofty mountaintops, and wreathed and torn like waves beating upon rocks; the airitself terrible from the deep darkness caused by the dust and fogand heavy clouds.

Of representing the deluge (607-609).

607.

TO REPRESENT THE DELUGE.

The air was darkened by the heavy rain whose oblique descent drivenaslant by the rush of the winds, flew in drifts through the air nototherwise than as we see dust, varied only by the straight lines ofthe heavy drops of falling water. But it was tinged with the colourof the fire kindled by the thunder-bolts by which the clouds wererent and shattered; and whose flashes revealed the broad waters ofthe inundated valleys, above which was seen the verdure of thebending tree tops. Neptune will be seen in the midst of the waterwith his trident, and [15] let AEolus with his winds be shownentangling the trees floating uprooted, and whirling in the hugewaves. The horizon and the whole hemisphere were obscure, but luridfrom the flashes of the incessant lightning. Men and birds might beseen crowded on the tall trees which remained uncovered by theswelling waters, originators of the mountains which surround thegreat abysses [Footnote 23: Compare Vol. II. No. 979.].

608.

OF THE DELUGE AND HOW TO REPRESENT IT IN A PICTURE.

Let the dark and gloomy air be seen buffeted by the rush of contrarywinds and dense from the continued rain mingled with hail andbearing hither and thither an infinite number of branches torn fromthe trees and mixed with numberless leaves. All round may be seenvenerable trees, uprooted and stripped by the fury of the winds; andfragments of mountains, already scoured bare by the torrents,falling into those torrents and choking their valleys till theswollen rivers overflow and submerge the wide lowlands and theirinhabitants. Again, you might have seen on many of the hill-topsterrified animals of different kinds, collected together and subduedto tameness, in company with men and women who had fled there withtheir children. The waters which covered the fields, with theirwaves were in great part strewn with tables, bedsteads, boats andvarious other contrivances made from necessity and the fear ofdeath, on which were men and women with their children amid soundsof lamentation and weeping, terrified by the fury of the winds whichwith their tempestuous violence rolled the waters under and over andabout the bodies of the drowned. Nor was there any object lighterthan the water which was not covered with a variety of animalswhich, having come to a truce, stood together in a frightenedcrowd--among them wolves, foxes, snakes and others--fleing fromdeath. And all the waters dashing on their shores seemed to bebattling them with the blows of drowned bodies, blows which killedthose in whom any life remained [19]. You might have seenassemblages of men who, with weapons in their hands, defended thesmall spots that remained to them against lions, wolves and beastsof prey who sought safety there. Ah! what dreadful noises were heardin the air rent by the fury of the thunder and the lightnings itflashed forth, which darted from the clouds dealing ruin andstriking all that opposed its course. Ah! how many you might haveseen closing their ears with their hands to shut out the tremendoussounds made in the darkened air by the raging of the winds minglingwith the rain, the thunders of heaven and the fury of thethunder-bolts. Others were not content with shutting their eyes, butlaid their hands one over the other to cover them the closer thatthey might not see the cruel slaughter of the human race by thewrath of God. Ah! how many laments! and how many in their terrorflung themselves from the rocks! Huge branches of great oaks loadedwith men were seen borne through the air by the impetuous fury ofthe winds. How many were the boats upset, some entire, and somebroken in pieces, on the top of people labouring to escape withgestures and actions of grief foretelling a fearful death. Others,with desperate act, took their own lives, hopeless of being able toendure such suffering; and of these, some flung themselves fromlofty rocks, others strangled themselves with their own hands, otherseized their own children and violently slew them at a blow; somewounded and killed themselves with their own weapons; others,falling on their knees recommended themselves to God. Ah! how manymothers wept over their drowned sons, holding them upon their knees,with arms raised spread out towards heaven and with words andvarious threatening gestures, upbraiding the wrath of the gods.Others with clasped hands and fingers clenched gnawed them anddevoured them till they bled, crouching with their breast down ontheir knees in their intense and unbearable anguish. Herds ofanimals were to be seen, such as horses, oxen, goats and swinealready environed by the waters and left isolated on the high peaksof the mountains, huddled together, those in the middle climbing tothe top and treading on the others, and fighting fiercelythemselves; and many would die for lack of food. Already had thebirds begun to settle on men and on other animals, finding no landuncovered which was not occupied by living beings, and already hadfamine, the minister of death, taken the lives of the greater numberof the animals, when the dead bodies, now fermented, where leavingthe depth of the waters and were rising to the top. Among thebuffeting waves, where they were beating one against the other, and,like as balls full of air, rebounded from the point of concussion,these found a resting place on the bodies of the dead. And abovethese judgements, the air was seen covered with dark clouds, rivenby the forked flashes of the raging bolts of heaven, lighting up onall sides the depth of the gloom.

The motion of the air is seen by the motion of the dust thrown up bythe horse's running and this motion is as swift in again filling upthe vacuum left in the air which enclosed the horse, as he is rapidin passing away from the air.

Perhaps it will seem to you that you may reproach me with havingrepresented the currents made through the air by the motion of thewind notwithstanding that the wind itself is not visible in the air.To this I must answer that it is not the motion of the wind but onlythe motion of the things carried along by it which is seen in theair.

THE DIVISIONS. [Footnote 76: These observations, added at the bottomof the page containing the full description of the doluge seem toindicate that it was Leonardo's intention to elaborate the subjectstill farther in a separate treatise.]

Darkness, wind, tempest at sea, floods of water, forests on fire,rain, bolts from heaven, earthquakes and ruins of mountains,overthrow of cities [Footnote 81: _Spianamenti di citta_ (overthrowof cities). A considerable number of drawings in black chalk, atWindsor, illustrate this catastrophe. Most of them are much rubbed;one of the least injured is reproduced at Pl. XXXIX. Compare alsothe pen and ink sketch Pl. XXXVI.].

Whirlwinds which carry water [spouts] branches of trees, and menthrough the air.

Boughs stripped off by the winds, mingling by the meeting of thewinds, with people upon them.

Broken trees loaded with people.

Ships broken to pieces, beaten on rocks.

Flocks of sheep. Hail stones, thunderbolts, whirlwinds.

People on trees which are unable to to support them; trees androcks, towers and hills covered with people, boats, tables, troughs,and other means of floating. Hills covered with men, women andanimals; and lightning from the clouds illuminating every thing.

[Footnote: This chapter, which, with the next one, is written on aloose sheet, seems to be the passage to which one of the compilersof the Vatican copy alluded when he wrote on the margin of fol. 36:"_Qua mi ricordo della mirabile discritione del Diluuio delloautore._" It is scarcely necessary to point out that these chaptersare among those which have never before been published. Thedescription in No. 607 may be regarded as a preliminary sketch forthis one. As the MS. G. (in which it is to be found) must beattributed to the period of about 1515 we may deduce from it theapproximate date of the drawings on Pl. XXXIV, XXXV, Nos. 2 and 3,XXXVI and XXXVII, since they obviously belong to this text. Thedrawings No. 2 on Pl. XXXV are, in the original, side by side withthe text of No. 608; lines 57 to 76 are shown in the facsimile. Inthe drawing in Indian ink given on Pl. XXXIV we see Wind-gods in thesky, corresponding to the allusion to Aeolus in No. 607 1.15.-Plates XXXVI and XXXVII form one sheet in the original. Thetexts reproduced on these Plates have however no connection with thesketches, excepting the sketches of clouds on the right hand side.These texts are given as No. 477. The group of small figures on Pl.XXXVII, to the left, seems to be intended for a '_congregationed'uomini._' See No. 608, 1. 19.]

609.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DELUGE.

Let there be first represented the summit of a rugged mountain withvalleys surrounding its base, and on its sides let the surface ofthe soil be seen to slide, together with the small roots of thebushes, denuding great portions of the surrounding rocks. Anddescending ruinous from these precipices in its boisterous course,let it dash along and lay bare the twisted and gnarled roots oflarge trees overthrowing their roots upwards; and let the mountains,as they are scoured bare, discover the profound fissures made inthem by ancient earthquakes. The base of the mountains may be ingreat part clothed and covered with ruins of shrubs, hurled downfrom the sides of their lofty peaks, which will be mixed with mud,roots, boughs of trees, with all sorts of leaves thrust in with themud and earth and stones. And into the depth of some valley may havefallen the fragments of a mountain forming a shore to the swollenwaters of its river; which, having already burst its banks, willrush on in monstrous waves; and the greatest will strike upon anddestroy the walls of the cities and farmhouses in the valley [14].Then the ruins of the high buildings in these cities will throw up agreat dust, rising up in shape like smoke or wreathed clouds againstthe falling rain; But the swollen waters will sweep round the poolwhich contains them striking in eddying whirlpools against thedifferent obstacles, and leaping into the air in muddy foam; then,falling back, the beaten water will again be dashed into the air.And the whirling waves which fly from the place of concussion, andwhose impetus moves them across other eddies going in a contrarydirection, after their recoil will be tossed up into the air butwithout dashing off from the surface. Where the water issues fromthe pool the spent waves will be seen spreading out towards theoutlet; and there falling or pouring through the air and gainingweight and impetus they will strike on the water below piercing itand rushing furiously to reach its depth; from which being thrownback it returns to the surface of the lake, carrying up the air thatwas submerged with it; and this remains at the outlet in foammingled with logs of wood and other matters lighter than water.Round these again are formed the beginnings of waves which increasethe more in circumference as they acquire more movement; and thismovement rises less high in proportion as they acquire a broaderbase and thus they are less conspicuous as they die away. But ifthese waves rebound from various objects they then return in directopposition to the others following them, observing the same law ofincrease in their curve as they have already acquired in themovement they started with. The rain, as it falls from the clouds isof the same colour as those clouds, that is in its shaded side;unless indeed the sun's rays should break through them; in that casethe rain will appear less dark than the clouds. And if the heavymasses of ruin of large mountains or of other grand buildings fallinto the vast pools of water, a great quantity will be flung intothe air and its movement will be in a contrary direction to that ofthe object which struck the water; that is to say: The angle ofreflection will be equal to the angle of incidence. Of the objectscarried down by the current, those which are heaviest or ratherlargest in mass will keep farthest from the two opposite shores. Thewater in the eddies revolves more swiftly in proportion as it isnearer to their centre. The crests of the waves of the sea tumble totheir bases falling with friction on the bubbles of their sides; andthis friction grinds the falling water into minute particles andthis being converted into a dense mist, mingles with the gale in themanner of curling smoke and wreathing clouds, and at last it, risesinto the air and is converted into clouds. But the rain which fallsthrough the atmosphere being driven and tossed by the winds becomesrarer or denser according to the rarity or density of the winds thatbuffet it, and thus there is generated in the atmosphere a moistureformed of the transparent particles of the rain which is near to theeye of the spectator. The waves of the sea which break on the slopeof the mountains which bound it, will foam from the velocity withwhich they fall against these hills; in rushing back they will meetthe next wave as it comes and and after a loud noise return in agreat flood to the sea whence they came. Let great numbers ofinhabitants--men and animals of all kinds--be seen driven [54] bythe rising of the deluge to the peaks of the mountains in the midstof the waters aforesaid.

The wave of the sea at Piombino is all foaming water. [Footnote 55.56: These two lines are written below the bottom sketch on Pl. XXXV,3. The MS. Leic. being written about the year 1510 or later, it doesnot seem to me to follow that the sketches must have been made atPiombino, where Leonardo was in the year 1502 and possibly returnedthere subsequently (see Vol. II. Topographical notes).]

Of the water which leaps up from the spot where great masses fall onits surface. Of the winds of Piombino at Piombino. Eddies of windand rain with boughs and shrubs mixed in the air. Emptying the boatsof the rain water.

[Footnote: The sketches on Pl. XXXV 3 stand by the side of lines 14to 54.]

Of depicting natural phenomena (610. 611).

610.

The tremendous fury of the wind driven by the falling in of thehills on the caves within--by the falling of the hills which servedas roofs to these caverns.

A stone flung through the air leaves on the eye which sees it theimpression of its motion, and the same effect is produced by thedrops of water which fall from the clouds when it [16] rains.

[17] A mountain falling on a town, will fling up dust in the form ofclouds; but the colour of this dust will differ from that of theclouds. Where the rain is thickest let the colour of the dust beless conspicuous and where the dust is thickest let the rain be lessconspicuous. And where the rain is mingled with the wind and withthe dust the clouds created by the rain must be more transparentthan those of dust [alone]. And when flames of fire are mingled withclouds of smoke and water very opaque and dark clouds will be formed[Footnote 26-28: Compare Pl. XL, 1--the drawing in Indian ink on theleft hand side, which seems to be a reminiscence of his observationsof an eruption (see his remarks on Mount Etna in Vol II).]. And therest of this subject will be treated in detail in the book onpainting.

[Footnote: See the sketches and text on Pl. XXXVIII, No. 1. Lines1-16 are there given on the left hand side, 17-30 on the right. Thefour lines at the bottom on the right are given as No. 472. Abovethese texts, which are written backwards, there are in the originalsixteen lines in a larger writing from left to right, but only halfof this is here visible. They treat of the physical laws of motionof air and water. It does not seem to me that there is any reasonfor concluding that this writing from left to right is spurious.Compare with it the facsimile of the rough copy of Leonardo's letterto Ludovico il Moro in Vol. II.]

611.

People were to be seen eagerly embarking victuals on various kindsof hastily made barks. But little of the waves were visible in thoseplaces where the dark clouds and rain were reflected.

But where the flashes caused by the bolts of heaven were reflected,there were seen as many bright spots, caused by the image of theflashes, as there were waves to reflect them to the eye of thespectator.

The number of the images produced by the flash of lightning on thewaves of the water were multiplied in proportion to the distance ofthe spectator's eye.

So also the number of the images was diminished in proportion asthey were nearer the eye which saw them [Footnote 22. 23: _Com'eprovato_. See Vol. II, Nos. 874-878 and 892-901], as it has beenproved in the definition of the luminosity of the moon, and of ourmarine horizon when the sun's rays are reflected in it and the eyewhich receives the reflection is remote from the sea.

VI.

THE ARTIST'S MATERIALS.

Of chalk and paper (612--617).

612.

To make points [crayons] for colouring dry. Temper with a little waxand do not dry it; which wax you must dissolve with water: so thatwhen the white lead is thus tempered, the water being distilled, maygo off in vapour and the wax may remain; you will thus make goodcrayons; but you must know that the colours must be ground with ahot stone.

613.

Chalk dissolves in wine and in vinegar or in aqua fortis and can berecombined with gum.

614.

PAPER FOR DRAWING UPON IN BLACK BY THE AID OF YOUR SPITTLE.

Take powdered gall nuts and vitriol, powder them and spread them onpaper like a varnish, then write on it with a pen wetted withspittle and it will turn as black as ink.

615.

If you want to make foreshortened letters stretch the paper in adrawing frame and then draw your letters and cut them out, and makethe sunbeams pass through the holes on to another stretched paper,and then fill up the angles that are wanting.

616.

This paper should be painted over with candle soot tempered withthin glue, then smear the leaf thinly with white lead in oil as isdone to the letters in printing, and then print in the ordinary way.Thus the leaf will appear shaded in the hollows and lighted on theparts in relief; which however comes out here just the contrary.

Very excellent will be a stiff white paper, made of the usualmixture and filtered milk of an herb called calves foot; and whenthis paper is prepared and damped and folded and wrapped up it maybe mixed with the mixture and thus left to dry; but if you break itbefore it is moistened it becomes somewhat like the thin pastecalled _lasagne_ and you may then damp it and wrap it up and put itin the mixture and leave it to dry; or again this paper may becovered with stiff transparent white and _sardonio_ and then dampedso that it may not form angles and then covered up with strongtransparent size and as soon as it is firm cut it two fingers, andleave it to dry; again you may make stiff cardboard of _sardonio_and dry it and then place it between two sheets of papyrus and breakit inside with a wooden mallet with a handle and then open it withcare holding the lower sheet of paper flat and firm so that thebroken pieces be not separated; then have a sheet of paper coveredwith hot glue and apply it on the top of all these pieces and letthem stick fast; then turn it upside down and apply transparent sizeseveral times in the spaces between the pieces, each time pouring infirst some black and then some stiff white and each time leaving itto dry; then smooth it and polish it.

On the preparation and use of colours (618-627).

618.

To make a fine green take green and mix it with bitumen and you willmake the shadows darker. Then, for lighter [shades] green withyellow ochre, and for still lighter green with yellow, and for thehigh lights pure yellow; then mix green and turmeric together andglaze every thing with it. To make a fine red take cinnabar or redchalk or burnt ochre for the dark shadows and for the lighter onesred chalk and vermilion and for the lights pure vermilion and thenglaze with fine lake. To make good oil for painting. One part ofoil, one of the first refining and one of the second.

619.

Use black in the shadow, and in the lights white, yellow, green,vermilion and lake. Medium shadows; take the shadow as above and mixit with the flesh tints just alluded to, adding to it a littleyellow and a little green and occasionally some lake; for theshadows take green and lake for the middle shades.

[Footnote 618 and 619: If we may judge from the flourishes withwhich the writing is ornamented these passages must have beenwritten in Leonardo's youth.]

620.

You can make a fine ochre by the same method as you use to makewhite.

621.

A FINE YELLOW.

Dissolve realgar with one part of orpiment, with aqua fortis.

WHITE.

Put the white into an earthen pot, and lay it no thicker than astring, and let it stand in the sun undisturbed for 2 days; and inthe morning when the sun has dried off the night dews.

622.

To make reddish black for flesh tints take red rock crystals fromRocca Nova or garnets and mix them a little; again armenian bole isgood in part.

623.

The shadow will be burnt ,terra-verte'.

624.

THE PROPORTIONS OF COLOURS.

If one ounce of black mixed with one ounce of white gives a certainshade of darkness, what shade of darkness will be produced by 2ounces of black to 1 ounce of white?

625.

Remix black, greenish yellow and at the end blue.

626.

Verdigris with aloes, or gall or turmeric makes a fine green and soit does with saffron or burnt orpiment; but I doubt whether in ashort time they will not turn black. Ultramarine blue and glassyellow mixed together make a beautiful green for fresco, that iswall-painting. Lac and verdigris make a good shadow for blue in oilpainting.

627.

Grind verdigris many times coloured with lemon juice and keep itaway from yellow (?).

Of preparing the panel.

628.

TO PREPARE A PANEL FOR PAINTING ON.

The panel should be cypress or pear or service-tree or walnut. Youmust coat it over with mastic and turpentine twice distilled andwhite or, if you like, lime, and put it in a frame so that it mayexpand and shrink according to its moisture and dryness. Then giveit [a coat] of aqua vitae in which you have dissolved arsenic or[corrosive] sublimate, 2 or 3 times. Then apply boiled linseed oilin such a way as that it may penetrate every part, and before it iscold rub it well with a cloth to dry it. Over this apply liquidvarnish and white with a stick, then wash it with urine when it isdry, and dry it again. Then pounce and outline your drawing finelyand over it lay a priming of 30 parts of verdigris with one ofverdigris with two of yellow.

[Footnote: M. RAVAISSON'S reading varies from mine in the followingpassages:

Make some oil of mustard seed; and if you wish to make it withgreater ease mix the ground seeds with linseed oil and put it allunder the press.

630.

TO REMOVE THE SMELL OF OIL.

Take the rank oil and put ten pints into a jar and make a mark onthe jar at the height of the oil; then add to it a pint of vinegarand make it boil till the oil has sunk to the level of the mark andthus you will be certain that the oil is returned to its originalquantity and the vinegar will have gone off in vapour, carrying withit the evil smell; and I believe you may do the same with nut oil orany other oil that smells badly.

631.

Since walnuts are enveloped in a thin rind, which partakes of thenature of ..., if you do not remove it when you make the oil fromthem, this skin tinges the oil, and when you work with it this skinseparates from the oil and rises to the surface of the painting, andthis is what makes it change.

632.

TO RESTORE OIL COLOURS THAT HAVE BECOME DRY.

If you want to restore oil colours that have become dry keep themsoaking in soft soap for a night and, with your finger, mix them upwith the soft soap; then pour them into a cup and wash them withwater, and in this way you can restore colours that have got dry.But take care that each colour has its own vessel to itself addingthe colour by degrees as you restore it and mind that they arethoroughly softened, and when you wish to use them for tempera washthem five and six times with spring water, and leave them to settle;if the soft soap should be thick with any of the colours pass itthrough a filter. [Footnote: The same remark applies to thesesections as to No. 618 and 619.]

633.

OIL.

Mustard seed pounded with linseed oil.

634.

... outside the bowl 2 fingers lower than the level of the oil, andpass it into the neck of a bottle and let it stand and thus all theoil will separate from this milky liquid; it will enter the bottleand be as clear as crystal; and grind your colours with this, andevery coarse or viscid part will remain in the liquid. You must knowthat all the oils that have been created in seads or fruits arequite clear by nature, and the yellow colour you see in them onlycomes of your not knowing how to draw it out. Fire or heat by itsnature has the power to make them acquire colour. See for examplethe exudation or gums of trees which partake of the nature of rosin;in a short time they harden because there is more heat in them thanin oil; and after some time they acquire a certain yellow huetending to black. But oil, not having so much heat does not do so;although it hardens to some extent into sediment it becomes finer.The change in oil which occurs in painting proceeds from a certainfungus of the nature of a husk which exists in the skin which coversthe nut, and this being crushed along with the nuts and being of anature much resembling oil mixes with it; it is of so subtle anature that it combines with all colours and then comes to thesurface, and this it is which makes them change. And if you want theoil to be good and not to thicken, put into it a little camphormelted over a slow fire and mix it well with the oil and it willnever harden.

[Footnote: The same remark applies to these sections as to No. 618and 619.]

On varnishes [or powders] (635-637).

635.

VARNISH [OR POWDER].

Take cypress [oil] and distil it and have a large pitcher, and putin the extract with so much water as may make it appear like amber,and cover it tightly so that none may evaporate. And when it isdissolved you may add in your pitcher as much of the said solution,as shall make it liquid to your taste. And you must know that amberis the gum of the cypress-tree.

VARNISH [OR POWDER].

And since varnish [powder] is the resin of juniper, if you distiljuniper you can dissolve the said varnish [powder] in the essence,as explained above.

636.

VARNISH [OR POWDER].

Notch a juniper tree and give it water at the roots, mix the liquorwhich exudes with nut-oil and you will have a perfect varnish[powder], made like amber varnish [powder], fine and of the bestquality make it in May or April.

637.

VARNISH [OR POWDER].

Mercury with Jupiter and Venus,--a paste made of these must becorrected by the mould (?) continuously, until Mercury separatesitself entirely from Jupiter and Venus. [Footnote: Here, and in No.641 _Mercurio_ seems to mean quicksilver, _Giove_ stands for iron,_Venere_ for copper and _Saturno_ for lead.]

On chemical materials (638-650).

638.

Note how aqua vitae absorbs into itself all the colours and smellsof flowers. If you want to make blue put iris flowers into it andfor red solanum berries (?)

639.

Salt may be made from human excrement burnt and calcined and madeinto lees, and dried by a slow fire, and all dung in like manneryields salt, and these salts when distilled are very pungent.

640.

Sea water filtered through mud or clay, leaves all its saltness init. Woollen stuffs placed on board ship absorb fresh water. If seawater is distilled under a retort it becomes of the first excellenceand any one who has a little stove in his kitchen can, with the samewood as he cooks with, distil a great quantity of water if theretort is a large one.

641.

MOULD(?).

The mould (?) may be of Venus, or of Jupiter and Saturn and placedfrequently in the fire. And it should be worked with fine emery andthe mould (?) should be of Venus and Jupiter impasted over (?)Venus. But first you will test Venus and Mercury mixed with Jove,and take means to cause Mercury to disperse; and then fold them welltogether so that Venus or Jupiter be connected as thinly aspossible.

Four ounces virgin wax, four ounces Greek pitch, two ounces incense,one ounce oil of roses, first melt the wax and oil then the Greekpitch then the other things in powder.

645.

Very thin glass may be cut with scissors and when placed over inlaidwork of bone, gilt, or stained of other colours you can saw itthrough together with the bone and then put it together and it willretain a lustre that will not be scratched nor worn away by rubbingwith the hand.

646.

TO DILUTE WHITE WINE AND MAKE IT PURPLE.

Powder gall nuts and let this stand 8 days in the white wine; and inthe same way dissolve vitriol in water, and let the water stand andsettle very clear, and the wine likewise, each by itself, and strainthem well; and when you dilute the white wine with the water thewine will become red.

647.

Put marcasite into aqua fortis and if it turns green, know that ithas copper in it. Take it out with saltpetre and soft soap.

648.

A white horse may have the spots removed with the Spanish haematiteor with aqua fortis or with ... Removes the black hair on a whitehorse with the singeing iron. Force him to the ground.

649.

FIRE.

If you want to make a fire which will set a hall in a blaze withoutinjury do this: first perfume the hall with a dense smoke of incenseor some other odoriferous substance: It is a good trick to play. Orboil ten pounds of brandy to evaporate, but see that the hall iscompletely closed and throw up some powdered varnish among the fumesand this powder will be supported by the smoke; then go into theroom suddenly with a lighted torch and at once it will be in ablaze.

650.

FIRE.

Take away that yellow surface which covers oranges and distill themin an alembic, until the distillation may be said to be perfect.

FIRE.

Close a room tightly and have a brasier of brass or iron with firein it and sprinkle on it two pints of aqua vitae, a little at atime, so that it may be converted into smoke. Then make some onecome in with a light and suddenly you will see the room in a blazelike a flash of lightning, and it will do no harm to any one.

VII.

PHILOSOPHY AND HISTORY OF THE ART OF PAINTING.

The relation of art and nature (651. 652).

651.

What is fair in men, passes away, but not so in art.

652.

HE WHO DESPISES PAINTING LOVES NEITHER PHILOSOPHY NOR NATURE.

If you condemn painting, which is the only imitator of all visibleworks of nature, you will certainly despise a subtle invention whichbrings philosophy and subtle speculation to the consideration of thenature of all forms--seas and plains, trees, animals, plants andflowers--which are surrounded by shade and light. And this is trueknowledge and the legitimate issue of nature; for painting is bornof nature--or, to speak more correctly, we will say it is thegrandchild of nature; for all visible things are produced by nature,and these her children have given birth to painting. Hence we mayjustly call it the grandchild of nature and related to God.

Painting is superior to poetry (653. 654).

653.

THAT PAINTING SURPASSES ALL HUMAN WORKS BY THE SUBTLE CONSIDERATIONSBELONGING TO IT.

The eye, which is called the window of the soul, is the principalmeans by which the central sense can most completely and abundantlyappreciate the infinite works of nature; and the ear is the second,which acquires dignity by hearing of the things the eye has seen. Ifyou, historians, or poets, or mathematicians had not seen thingswith your eyes you could not report of them in writing. And if you,0 poet, tell a story with your pen, the painter with his brush cantell it more easily, with simpler completeness and less tedious tobe understood. And if you call painting dumb poetry, the painter maycall poetry blind painting. Now which is the worse defect? to beblind or dumb? Though the poet is as free as the painter in theinvention of his fictions they are not so satisfactory to men aspaintings; for, though poetry is able to describe forms, actions andplaces in words, the painter deals with the actual similitude of theforms, in order to represent them. Now tell me which is the nearerto the actual man: the name of man or the image of the man. The nameof man differs in different countries, but his form is never changedbut by death.

654.

And if the poet gratifies the sense by means of the ear, the painterdoes so by the eye--the worthier sense; but I will say no more ofthis but that, if a good painter represents the fury of a battle,and if a poet describes one, and they are both together put beforethe public, you will see where most of the spectators will stop, towhich they will pay most attention, on which they will bestow mostpraise, and which will satisfy them best. Undoubtedly painting beingby a long way the more intelligible and beautiful, will please most.Write up the name of God [Christ] in some spot and setup His imageopposite and you will see which will be most reverenced. Paintingcomprehends in itself all the forms of nature, while you havenothing but words, which are not universal as form is, and if youhave the effects of the representation, we have the representationof the effects. Take a poet who describes the beauty of a lady toher lover and a painter who represents her and you will see to whichnature guides the enamoured critic. Certainly the proof should beallowed to rest on the verdict of experience. You have rankedpainting among the mechanical arts but, in truth, if painters wereas apt at praising their own works in writing as you are, it wouldnot lie under the stigma of so base a name. If you call itmechanical because it is, in the first place, manual, and that it isthe hand which produces what is to be found in the imagination, youtoo writers, who set down manually with the pen what is devised inyour mind. And if you say it is mechanical because it is done formoney, who falls into this error--if error it can be called--morethan you? If you lecture in the schools do you not go to whoeverpays you most? Do you do any work without pay? Still, I do not saythis as blaming such views, for every form of labour looks for itsreward. And if a poet should say: "I will invent a fiction with agreat purpose," the painter can do the same, as Apelles paintedCalumny. If you were to say that poetry is more eternal, I say theworks of a coppersmith are more eternal still, for time preservesthem longer than your works or ours; nevertheless they have not muchimagination [29]. And a picture, if painted on copper with enamelcolours may be yet more permanent. We, by our arts may be called thegrandsons of God. If poetry deals with moral philosophy, paintingdeals with natural philosophy. Poetry describes the action of themind, painting considers what the mind may effect by the motions [ofthe body]. If poetry can terrify people by hideous fictions,painting can do as much by depicting the same things in action.Supposing that a poet applies himself to represent beauty, ferocity,or a base, a foul or a monstrous thing, as against a painter, he mayin his ways bring forth a variety of forms; but will the painter notsatisfy more? are there not pictures to be seen, so like the actualthings, that they deceive men and animals?

Painting is superior to sculpture (655. 656).

655.

THAT SCULPTURE IS LESS INTELLECTUAL THAN PAINTING, AND LACKS MANYCHARACTERISTICS OF NATURE.

I myself, having exercised myself no less in sculpture than inpainting and doing both one and the other in the same degree, itseems to me that I can, without invidiousness, pronounce an opinionas to which of the two is of the greatest merit and difficulty andperfection. In the first place sculpture requires a certain light,that is from above, a picture carries everywhere with it its ownlight and shade. Thus sculpture owes its importance to light andshade, and the sculptor is aided in this by the nature, of therelief which is inherent in it, while the painter whose artexpresses the accidental aspects of nature, places his effects inthe spots where nature must necessarily produce them. The sculptorcannot diversify his work by the various natural colours of objects;painting is not defective in any particular. The sculptor when heuses perspective cannot make it in any way appear true; that of thepainter can appear like a hundred miles beyond the picture itself.Their works have no aerial perspective whatever, they cannotrepresent transparent bodies, they cannot represent luminous bodies,